Teddy Perkins' Emmy mystery

by Courtney Deeren | copy editor

Tue, Oct 2nd 2018 10:00 pm

The 70th Emmy awards was held on Monday Sept. 17. Fans of all shows and genres were tuning in to see if their favorite actors would win an award and what, or rather who, they were wearing. But amidst all that, one thing had fans of the show "Atlanta" talking. Who was Teddy Perkins?

Perkins, who has come to be known as Atlanta’s creepiest character was front row with the rest of the cast. That is, the rest of the cast aside from Donald Glover, who portrayed Perkins in the show until his ultimate demise. This has lead many to speculate on who exactly dressed as Perkins for the awards show.

It was Glover himself that portrayed the character throughout the series, and whoever it was sat in the same seat Glover did later on in the show. Since Glover and Perkins weren’t seen sitting together this seemed the most likely scenario. Vulture has no doubt that it absolutely was not Glover wearing the hot prosthetics and makeup. The time it would have taken him to remove the makeup, prosthetics and change his outfit was too unrealistic for it to actually have been Glover. Plus, many fans are saying that if it was in fact Glover, he should have won the Emmys he was nominated for. Not to mention the thick beard Glover is currently rocking, which would have been almost impossible to conceal and the picture which featured both Perkins and Glover.

Variety toys with the idea that it could have been comedian Jay Pharoah dressed as the odd character. Their strongest evidence of this possible theory is that Pharoah posted a photo on instagram of Perkins with Atlanta cast members. He also reportedly shared many articles on social media theorizing he was behind the cameo. Even other celebrities were confused about the man behind the prosthetic face. Bill Hader said in a backstage interview “I don’t know who that was I hugged, but it was the guy from ‘Atlanta,’ he showed up.” Comedian Ben Schwartz also noticed the appearance tweeting “The only thing more intense than Teddy Perkins being in the front row of the Emmys is trying to explain to someone who doesn’t watch 'Atlanta' who Teddy Perkins is.”

Vanity Fair reports on theories of Lakieth Stanfield donning the costume. This seemed the most likely to internet detectives. But this is actually the least likely instance. Stanfield was pictured walking the red carpet prior to the show, and stood for many photo shoots throughout the show. Stanfield was also pictured along with other cast members and the mysterious Perkins.

Theories continue to fly about who really was behind the Perkins appearance. No matter who you believe played the part for the Emmys, we can all agree on one thing. None of us will probably ever know who exactly was behind the makeup. At this point, even if someone does come forward it’s likely that die hard believers of other theories won’t believe it. As much as Glover portraying his infamous character for an awards show would be fun and dedicated, it seems plausible.